The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-08-02

Self Confidence and Courage Essential to the
Tanning of Wild Beasts.


Self-Confidence and Courage Essential to the
Tanning of wild Beasts.
Paris Letter in Pail Mall Gazette.
very snowy house indeed. the vita oes
Lions. at 13 Rus de la Comete. in the fashlona-
bic Partisan suburb Lions IN emblem every
where; IN stone on the new brick gates and In
bronze for knocker and bell pull. The lion
tanner appears on the terrace OF his house and
bids walk up I introduced to Nine.
Bidel. handsome woman, middle aged, reso-
lutte looking and amiable. Also 20 sturdy
man, who grips my hand SO that feel It stu:
who is NJ. Alexiano. brother-in-law and pupil of
NJ I3idel. Nine. Bidel pours out coffee and pro-
vides cigarettes. while l begin the conversation
II am going to be excessively indiscreet.'
.'Faites, Monsieur" How did you to be
a lion-tamerf II was born to the business. My
father kept show. l began to enter the
cages when / was quite a child. l began with
wolves, hyenas. and other small fry. At fifteen
left my parents and travelled abouS the country
with other shows. In 1859 / at Bayonne
with the Banarbo menagerie. A young royal
Bengal tiger got loose. You imagine the
state of the inhabitants. l sent for. L
looked for the beast for time, and found
him at last in blacksmith's shop. went up to
him, caught him by the throat with one hand,
and with the other threw him on my shoulders
and carried him back to his cage. carried him
300 yards. My back was considerably damaged
l was twenty years old them and i. is from that
moment date my veritable career. had faced
danger. knew what it was and did not fear It,
Immediately began to tame lions, lionesses,
tigers, polar bears, panthers. etc.
What means do you employ to tame your
animalsa' My complete selfconfdence and my
courage. / consider these the only means
Redhot irons. arms, loaded whips the i'm
plements of the char!atan or of the coward.
have never made of anything more formd-
able than an ordinary riding-whp And. please
observe, l only work with full grown animals
captured in wild state, and not. like my
freres, with beasts born in the
menagerie and brought up by bitches
the Prince and the Princess of Wales visited my
establishment in 1873 at the time of the exhibit
ton, entered the cage in their presence and in
the presence of Gam betta Emile de Grardin,
and Others aud IN astered six full grown African
lions whom | had received that day, and who
ferocious any l have ever had to do
with. Sultan, too, the lion whose portrait you
over the fireplace. and who nearly killed me
year ago. six years old-that is, in his
prime-when | entered his cage for the
first time That was down at Lyons,
in September. 1876. The previous day be had
killed man named Vicard. and my perform
ance was given in favor of Vicard's widow and
orphan. Vicard was a railway porter, and had
been foolish enough to put his hand into the
lions travelling box at the station-Sultan had
just arrived from Africa that morning-to stroke
the brute Sultan seized his arm, and tore it
off bodily. The man died the night. Be-
fore twentyfour hours had elapsed had entire
ly subjugated this man killer worked regu-
larry with him twice day for ten years. 1t was
just year ago that he attacked me and nearly
killed l suffering from rheumatic
pains that day and happened to slip. A lion
tanner must never fall. Lions have not your
The brute me like shot, and he got me
by the neck. L caught him by the throat and
shouted, Sultan! Sultan! what are you doingP
My voice frightened him, doubtless. for he
opened his jaws and loosened his hold without
tearing out the flesh. If he had done that l
should inevitably have been killed. He then
seized me by the ARM and afterward by the
thigh, wounding me besides with his claws in
three other places. l managed, however, in
spite of my terrible wounds, to struggle to my
feet. and once my feet master of him.
Since then, however, have not entered the
cages / have been terribly shaken and re-
duced in strength. 1t will be some time before
/ shall have sufficient nerve to approach Sultan
once more. No; l do not believe In that non
sense that is talked about it being impossible
to do anything with animals who have tasted
human blood or nave seen 1t. Ii did should
have retired from business long ago. l have
been bitten and torn over and over again. and
have often continued my performance with my
blood streaming all over me. The brutes appre-
ciate my courage and are afraid of me, because
they that am not afraid of them. That is
the whole secret of on-taming"
you are immensely strong NJ Bdel?' 81 used
to be-" he replied modestly. Il have told you
what did at Bayonne when lad. AT Madrie
-once pursued lion that had got loose for
thirty minutes, caught him single handed and
held him till my men brought up his cage. into
which threw him. Well. yes, / was slightly
damaged. At one time one of the great hits sof
my performance was to pick up full sized lion
on my shoulders and to carry him round the
cage three times. The lion weighed 200 kilos. 1
am strong now. Sultan Knocked it out of
gme-training you call it-and never have done
so. avoid excuses of all kinds, especially of
strong drink. and that is ALL"
'Aprepos of economy you must have heavy |
expenses Eyes. calculate my expenses in |
Paris about II, 000f. month, and it is at Paris |
we spend least. At Bordeaux spent 1,100f a
day, and of course when ira Yelling in |
our special train, spend far more. The ex- |
penses include food for the beasts, rent for |
space, and the tax entertainments which goes |
to the public assistance Office !use one horse
a day to feed my animals. We give them beef |
twice week. One day in the month they fest. |
A lion eats twenty pounds OF flesh per diem |
and drinks two quarts of cows milk every morn |
ing. The polar bear gets fish oil three times |
week. Then there is the loss of the beasts to be |
sumption among lions. and lion is worth from |
20 00Of to 80 0OOf. The cost price of lion I'M |
tanned is f600. That is what paid for Sultan who |
is now worth least 81. 0O0 He is the most mag
nifcent specimen of a black-maEed Atlas lion in |
Europe You must consider the capital we have |
to sink in our subjects when You |
calculate our expenses. On the other |
hand. the receipts good. Neuilly |
fair is one of the most productive of the places |
we visit We give performances every |
On Sundays usually make f100 or f120. but |
with six performances at reduced prices. | for |
got to mention one item of expense, which IS the |
band. We only employ Frenchmen. and they |
are more expensive than Germans. l have not |
had single German employe since 1871. You |
saw what a fuss was made because my colleague, |
Pezon mad a German band. He has had to dis |
miss them and employ Frenchmen. The Ger |
mans are being bounded out OF every establish |
ment in the business"
Golden Noon.
Adons has come back; cicadas sing,
Though twelve months silent, for July is herv;
And thou o Aphrodte, void Of fear
4 81 <.,llI 1o-+ a1 1s